Games
by MiyuTanemura
Summary: The group's latest mission ends up being much more than any of them expected. Natsu/Gray. The rating changed. This is mostly a team!fic with some Natsu/Gray.
1. Let the Game Begin

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

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Chapter One – Let the Game Begin

Natsu woke up.

His head hurt – a lot – and he couldn't get into a comfortable position. He tried to move his arms but they seemed to be tied up and-

Wait a minute!

He opened his eyes and looked up.

Yes, his hands were trapped inside black metal balls, each of his fingers was surrounded by a metallic cylinder and he wasn't able to do the least movement. When he tried to squirm away he noticed that there was a metallic bar around his waist. What the hell was going on in here?

He looked around and saw that he was in a large room, probably underground as there were no windows. He seemed to be tied up to what looked like a huge rock, in front of him there was a half-circle of – was it coal? Whatever it was, it was hot, incandescent even. There was a small path with something shiny. Natsu wasn't able to see what it was.

The whole room was tinted by a red color that was provided by the large bonfires that heated the room, smoke raising to the high ceiling.

On the far wall from where he was standing, there was a large door and, near it, two long tables – one on each side.

As he was alone in the room, Natsu allowed himself to remember the events that had lead to his current situation. There had to be some logical explanation for his predicament.

* * *

It had started with a pretty regular thing, nothing extraordinary, a simple mission that paid well. They were to go to the village of Castor to the abandoned Ops manor and retrieve the Statue of Plenty, by the acclaimed sculptor, Abas. Nothing much, there was only a slight rumor that it might be haunted but they decided to go anyway.

The group had gotten to Castor easily as it wasn't all that far from Magnolia and they walked to the place. They had found the place pretty easily as it was in the outskirts of the village, surrounded by tall vegetation and somber trees.

The group started walking towards it, Erza was in the front discussing a way of approach with Gray while Lucy was some steps behind with Natsu and Happy, looking a bit worried.

"What? Don't you tell me you're scared…" Natsu couldn't help but tease her.

"N-no… what makes you say that?" she asked while looking suspiciously around. She had this strange feeling…

"Maybe Lucy thinks she's in one of those books she trades with Levy, aye!" Happy was flying backwards so he could look at them.

As they got to the shadowed alley they fell silent and could notice how run down and abandoned this whole place seemed to be. It wasn't surprising but…

They were able to walk to the front door without trouble, at least. The door creaked loudly when Erza pushed it carefully open.

"Everything looks calm but we better watch out." She muttered. The rest of the group nodded and, without further ado, they entered.

Inside the air was stale, cobwebs fell from the ceiling and the large chandeliers and the furniture was completely covered in dust.

"This seems quiet enough." Natsu said, standing in the middle of the huge hall, right at the bottom of the stairwell.

Gray was the last one to enter and the door closed with a loud slam, making some of the dust fall over their heads. They started. At that moment a flurry of activity surrounded them as windows were covered and shut and a strange white powder was blown into the room.

"What the hell is this?" someone screeched (probably Lucy). The powder surrounded them, spiraling all around them, clogging their airways. There was something that made their limbs feel heavy and it didn't take long until the group was on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

And then Natsu only remembered waking here, not knowing where his friends were and knowing that he couldn't do anything to help them.

It was unnerving and there was something that was pissing him off. He tried to squirm and pull at his restraints once again but it was all in vain.

He was helpless.

"You shouldn't move so much." The male voice startled him from his musings – he had been alone in the room on far… Now there was a man in a dark brown cloak, standing in the outer side of the circle, his face covered by a mask. Strange... He hadn't heard anything…

The man carried on, unfased by his confusion. "You're going to need your strength." Natsu was able to hear a satisfied tone in the man's voice. What was going on in here?

"What do you mean? Let me go!" Natsu pulled at his restraints once again.

"Let you go and let the fun end? I don't think so." The man got closer but stood outside still. "And we're not going to let all our enjoyment go to waste. One of you is already doing his part…"

"One of us? What do you mean? What fun?" Natsu's confusion just grew. "Who are you?" he added in a low voice.

"We? We're Emalfiro, of course, and this is our game…"

* * *

Gray had woken up lying on sand. Uncomfortably warm sand. It was burning him.

That was not a good feeling to wake up to.

Slowly rising to stand on his knees, Gray looked around.

This was not the same place he last remembered.

Looking around, it seemed that he was in what looked like a desert. No walls were seen so he could only suppose that he was somewhere outside. But what had just happened? One minute was in a dark, dusty room and the other he was in a sea of sand!

Letting out a loud exhale he looked down at his knees. That was odd… he was only wearing his undergarments. Since when?

That was why he was feeling his legs burning up. Slowly rising, Gray looked around. There was nothing he could see except this sandy sea. How was he supposed to get out?

There was a sudden crackle sound behind him and when he turned back two men were standing there – both were wearing hooded cloaks. One was dark brown and the other a pale yellow.

"So this is the first one?" came the voice from the yellow cloak.

"That's right. And you can start playing with him." The other man answered.

"Finally. You've snatched all the fun lately. That was not fair." A hand came up to push down the hood, revealing a young man (in his early twenties, probably), his black hair had been cut really short and he had an outstanding characteristic – he was wearing a silver chain that connected the earring from his left ear to the ring he had on his lower lip. That was unexpected besides, that couldn't possibly be comfortable with this heat.

So, both men were discussing something – that Gray wasn't about to comprehend – and ignoring him. Until-

"None of that matters, for the moment. We need to start this activity. And you're going to do it, right?" without expecting an answer the guy, that remained with his hood on, walked until he was in front of Gray.

"You think this is confusing, right?" his arrogant voice showed no compassion. "You have to go to the end of the room, over there-" he pointed, "-and overcome all the hurdles that appear in your way. When you get there you'll find new orders. This guy here is going to give you trouble so, good luck." He turned and walked briskly toward where the other was. "Have fun but you won't need to go full-on. He's already pretty bad as it is." He said in a lower voice before walking away and disappearing.

As the remaining man stalked towards him, Gray could only have an ominous feeling.

This was _not_ going to go well.

**

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A/N:** A small story that has been bugging me really bad these last few days. Damn you plot bunnies!

This is unbeta-ed and will have three or four chapters.

Review?


	2. Nightmare in the Sand

Disclaimer: Not mine but I'm having fun with them for a little bit :D

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Chapter Two – Nightmare in the Sand

"What are you waiting for?"

The young man looked at Gray in an annoyed-yet-planning-something-evil way, hands digging deeply into his pockets.

"What?" Gray stammered, almost taking a step back.

"He said you had to go. So go." The smirk that appeared on his face showed clearly how low he was thinking of Gray. His green eyes twinkling evilly.

"I'm not going to-" Gray started saying until what felt like a hot iron bar hit him on the back of his legs, making him fall on the hot sand. It was highly uncomfortable as the sand was burning him and all of those grainy points were prickling him. And he was feeling really bad, magic-wise. The whole desert thing was really difficult for him to endure, the high temperature was making him feel ill and he was starting to feel his grasp on his magic fading. And, he thought cynically, he was going to lose the link to his magic. Even if he could create anything, it wouldn't take long until it melted and disappeared, and the temperature for this place kept rising!

Gray shook his head and looked up.

The other threw a level stare at him. The chain jingled a bit – the sound filling the heavy silence.

It made Gray want to gulp but his throat was already too dry, his tongue feeling heavy and swollen in his mouth.

"Are you def? Go!"

Gray stood up slowly. This was just too weird, he was being ordered by this enemy that could easily have the upper hand in these conditions – besides, he had the strangest feeling. It felt almost as if he were being toyed with. It raised many questions in Gray's mind – questions that he knew that would remain unanswered.

Gods, did things look bad!

Brushing off some sand grains from his body he was about to look at the other but when he turned he noticed he was alone.

'What the-'

He let out a pent-up sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose.

Right now he could only do one thing and that was to walk in the aforementioned direction.

He set to it, under the blazing sun.

* * *

Gray fell, face first, on the sand. Something had made him trip. Looking down he couldn't see anything that could've done that, only sand… And as he was in a slightly more rocky part of this desert he had scratched his right arm and a large gash ran form his right ankle own to his foot. It was bleeding sluggishly.

Gray put his hand in it, he had to make the bleeding stop and it would probably be a good idea to have something that didn't let the sand enter the wound. But he didn't have anything at hand. Huh, except his boxer-shorts.

They would have to do.

He ripped the bottom part – thankfully they were quite long – and managed to do a makeshift bandage. It wouldn't do for long but at least no foreign body would enter the wound.

He got up and felt a twinge in his arm. Looking down he saw that it was covered by sand.

But-

Since when was it there? He hadn't fallen so that that part of his arm had had any contact with the sand. And there was more sand coming to cover his body. But there was no wind…

Well, he just had to walk towards that place, right? Hopefully there would be a door and he would be able to escape from this nightmare.

As he walked (limped might be a more appropriate term) he could feel the sweat running down his face and back – and it stung. Gray was suspicious and a little fearful at what might be in store for him, after all, where was the other guy? He couldn't just have gone away.

He better continue walking.

After dragging himself for what looked like endless ages, the sand under his feet started shifting. At first it was barely noticeable but the more he walked, the more it reacted under his bare feet. It was moving – almost as if it were alive. Gray didn't have time to process this thought because the ground started trembling and rising until it had a snake-like appearance, staring at him. A coiled snake that was ready to strike. In the next moment it was on his back – and Gray couldn't go back now… He took a step forward and a strong gust of wind almost unbalanced him. He opened his eyes and slowly lowered his arms, that had been covering his face. He was lucky to do that at the moment because two large columns of sand were coming towards him. Gray jumped to his left and fell in front of a yellow fabric. Looking up he saw the other guy who was sporting an amused look.

"Miss me?" he asked before two lances made of sand started hovering behind him. With a slight ripple of the fabric of his sleeve, the lance on the right descended towards Gray in a blurring arch.

Gray didn't think twice. His hands came to the blade and managed to stop it for the moment. He stood there, in a momentary equilibrium but then the sand between his hands started dwindling. By the corner of his eye he saw that he other was just looking at him.

The sand shot up, in a thin film that was hovering over Gray, then twined into three rope-like threads that descended and made three deep gashes on his back.

Gray could feel the blood starting to run profusely but he couldn't do anything, his magic wasn't responding anymore and the small attempts he had made earlier had been extremely frustrating. His only hope was to persevere and head to that place by his strength alone.

Small blasting sounds came from behind and he was only able to see smoke and sand popping in a straight line that was heading right his way – and these mini-explosions were growing in intensity. It was going to get to him in no time!

Gray threw a horrified glance at the other who was now snapping his fingers for each bomb that went off.

Gray saw a smirk and that damned tingle of the chain echoed before the blast – that was so loud that Gray thought he wouldn't hear ever again.

A scorching hot wave crashed against his back and then he was inside a whirl of sand, floating in the nowhere and everything was still. Then gravity started pulling at him and the sand moved faster, diminishing the existent air for him to breathe. Not that it mattered as Gray crashed down on the ground seconds later – that took away the rest of his breath.

Gray was on the ground, gulping much needed air and his hands digging onto what was beneath him, trying to find some sort of purchase. He noticed that he was fighting a losing battle, only conscious by a thread. But he had to continue that way because he had to find the others and they _had_ to run away from here. So, he got to his knees, still breathing heavily.

The soft crunch of the sand made him straighten up and look at the other guy. He frowned.

The other just gave him a bored glance.

"I thought that the ones from your Guild were supposed to be the strongest-" he focused on Gray, "-but I guess that with this setting it would be terribly hard for you…"

A tendril made of sand curled around Gray's neck and it got ticker and ticker until it grew and pulled Gray a few centimeters off the ground. His hands instantly shot up, trying to scratch it away and let some air in – this thing was strangling him!

"I just regret not being able to use all of my power…" he pulled distractedly at the chain. "Somehow I feel like this was too easy, almost child's play. It's not fair that the others have all the fun…" he pouted a little. Then he glanced back at Gray. "And don't you know that it's rude not to reply?"

He lashed a tendril in a whip-like manner, hitting Gray squarely on the chest. This only made Gray gasp. But when a rope of sand curled around his right forearm and squeezed, Gray used the rest of his breath to let out a choked scream.

This hurt immensely and felt like he was being branded.

"For the love of-" the other approached Gray and produced a sharp dagger from his cloak. "It's not as bad as it could be, see?" he swiftly plunged it in Gray's left arm and dragged it a few centimeters down. Gray's mouth opened in a scream but no sound emerged.

"Now, you see, this is a bit worse. But I have to hand it to you. You lasted longer than I expected." He looked pleased.

Finally he released Gray from his hold and drew the dagger out and Gray was at his feet, gasping for air. "Oh, come on. You're almost at the end of this part. Look-" he kicked Gray to get his attention.

Gray was wheezing but he looked to the side, nonetheless. And yes, there it was.

A large dark red door, standing in the middle of the desert.

"See. You only have to get there and, as a reward, you'll only have to face this small sandstorm." He lifted his arms and the wind started blowing.

Getting up extremely slow, Gray put his arms in front of his eyes and squinted.

There it was, a red dot in the middle of this hell. He started walking.

He had to reach it. He had to endure this and hope to find his friends soon. They were going to get away from here.

Gray started repeating this over and over again. The mind overcame the matter, so by thinking this he was able to ignore the blood that was staining his skin, the sand that was covering him and sticking disgustingly to everyplace in his body or the way that the burning-hot sand felt like pinpricks that just made him _ache_.

The wind calmed down, he didn't know how long he had been walking blindly but after more steps it calmed completely. Gray finally was standing at the door!

He let his body push down against the door, the handle being pulled somehow and he fell into a dark room. Wait, this room had a weak light – a red light?

"And here is your friend. See?" A slightly familiar voice cut through Gray's haze and then a truly familiar one pierced the silence.

"Gray?"

It was Natsu.

**

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A/N:** Here is another chapter. This is a bit longer that what I expected but hopefully you won't think that it was too over the top. And I apologize if this is unrealistic and goes against something in the manga but I'm like 100 chapters behind and didn't have the time to read. Besides, this story is just a little something that I really had to write so, here it is.

Still unbeta-ed, everybody's just so busy…

Reviews are appreciated.


	3. The Glass Path

Disclaimer: Just playing a little bit more with the characters, still don't own anything.

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Chapter Three – The Glass Path

Natsu saw Gray fall to his knees and, despite the distance he managed to see his friend's pitiful state. How in hells did that happen? Could this _game_ be the one responsible for his friend's condition?

The masked man didn't take long to answer his silent questions. "I told you that one of your friends was playing his part already." He turned his back on Natsu and spoke to Gray. "Your task isn't over yet. You have to go to your friend and release him."

The voice echoed loudly in the large room and Natsu cringed a little when he saw that Gray had yet to move from his spot on the floor. Silence fell in the room until Gray's gasps were the only thing heard. Natsu started urging his friend on silently, for him to get up and do something. He had to because he had no idea of what would happen if they didn't comply – to them or to the girls and Happy who were missing.

Gray was covered in a brownish substance and some red smudges were visible here and there in his body. And then something else hit him. This room was also very hot – Gray couldn't handle it for long, of that Natsu was sure.

The gasps calmed and became more rhythmic, what signaled that Gray was regaining some of his control. Now he only had to get here to- to? What was he supposed to do to release Natsu?

As he was wondering, Gray had stood up and was dragging himself to where Natsu was. Time passed excruciatingly slow and Gray stumbled and nearly fell a dozen times – thankfully he always caught himself and just wobbled for seconds before taking another step.

He was standing in the outer circle and stopped at a signal from the masked man.

"You have that small trail to reach your friend."

Gray looked at the man and then at Natsu, a determined yet cold mask on his features. It worried Natsu a bit because that wasn't his usual _cold_ expression. No, it was cold due to the tenseness he had but there was also a blankness about it… Gray had to be in much worse condition than he was showing if he had raised a wall so thick that didn't let the least feeling show.

And that only made Natsu grow more concerned by the second.

He saw how Gray walked to the beginning of the path and hesitated. Could it be because of the shiny things?

"Go on, you know what you have to do." Natsu saw how expectant the cloaked man was. Rage started bubbling inside – who did he – these people – think they were to throw people to the middle of this twisted _game_? They had to be completely mental!

His focus fell from the man to Gray once again and he saw that Gray had yet to take his first step. What was he waiting for? What was the problem?

His question was answered when he saw Gray shift his weight, clench his teeth and fists.

The sickening crunch said it all – it was glass. Shards of glass of several sizes, sharp and pointy and Gray had to walk over them (it was out of the question that he would walk through the coal).

These people were really sick!

Natsu saw how Gray soldiered on, his other foot coming to the next step and making another crunching sound. He couldn't help but grimace at the pain that the other must be feeling.

By then time must've slowed down – it had to because everything was coming in slow motion – and that only made Gray's ordeal last longer.

But then Gray slipped!

He crashed onto the ground with several crystalline sounds emerging at the same time that some shiny bits flew out. He lay on the ground, breathing heavily and trying to get up, very slowly. His body was definitely covered with red lines, cascading down his body. His stubbornness was the only thing that kept him going. He didn't want to look weaker than he was so he was going to the end of this.

On his side, Natsu's concern just grew. Gray had fallen while in was still in the first third of the circle, there was still a lot that he needed to cross until he was on this side. Could he do it?

Natsu knew that Gray could bear pain to a certain extent – his pain threshold was larger than the usual but he still had a limit. And there was no way that Natsu could know how close to it he was. And the blood also made another problem, it was worrying that he was losing so much of it but it also made everything more slippery – and that was seriously handicapping Gray.

Natsu tried to force the bindings once again but the only reaction he got was an involuntary jerk of his left arm that was followed by a dull pain.

His took his eyes off Gray to look at the masked man. It was extremely awkward that, seeing how both they were, he hadn't moved yet. He contented in staying on the outer edge of the circle, watching Gray's progress. It was almost as if he were there just to watch and comment.

Looking back at Gray, Natsu saw that he was already in the middle and that meant one of two things; either Natsu had been distracted by his thoughts longer than he thought or Gray had changed tactics and was now advancing faster but with less caution. Without noticing it, Natsu started calling, urging Gray and, apparently, his voice was helping more than expected because Gray was able to push the other things down by focusing on his voice.

At last, Gray was at the final third but, whether it was from the circle or from him being in a really unlucky day, he lost his balance and fell again. The worse part was that he had fallen sideways and, acting on instinct to protect himself, he ended up with his forearm in the blazing coal. He rolled quickly back to the glass path but not without a sizzling sound and a nearly inaudible scream could be heard. He curled a bit over his injured left arm but had to get away from this place, at least. Gray managed to get up, much slower than the first time and did the final stretch cradling his arm and not bothering with the glasses (some were of a considerate size, even) that were piercing him. There was even a shard that was over his Guild's symbol and made it look like the bird was crying fat, red tears.

That was a very disturbing sight, to tell the truth.

Gray managed to drag himself to where Natsu was, their eyes connecting briefly before he fell to his knees. His labored breath made Natsu's worry grow even more.

"Now, to the last part of this event, you only have to freeze those metallic bands and your task will be over." The gleeful voice broke the silence and had both boys looking at the masked man.

"Are you out of your mind?" Gray gasped.

"What do you mean freeze?" Natsu's patience was wearing really thin. Of course that being held this was wasn't exactly helping much…

Then he processed the words. _Freeze_? In this furnace?

"You can't be serious…" he said in disbelief as Gray's labored breaths sounded in the background.

The masked man continued. "Yes, freeze. Those restraints are made of Plutoncius, an extremely strong alloy. It's fairly new and made specifically to warmer environments but as an immense weakness in the ice. The ice freezes the already stiff molecules and the consequent intermolecular interactions are broken."

Natsu's eye twitched. What was with that explanation? And, more importantly,

"How's Gray supposed to make ice appear in here? It's blazing hot and he just won't have enough-"

"That's what makes this all so much fun. You have to find a way, and it also depends on the strength of the mage. Oh! And I would hurry, if I were you. I forgot to mention that there is a specific time to this part of the task. If you take too long there will be dire consequences…" he let his words hang and started pacing along the outer side of the circle.

Natsu looked down and only had time to let out a worried, "Gray-"

"I know, I know. I heard him also." Gray started getting up, holding onto the band around the fire mage's waist.

"What are we going to do, then? I tried to force these and they didn't budge and there's no way that you can use your magic, in the state you're in. Even if you could it would melt."

"All that trust in me… I'm touched." Gray grimaced as the shards in his feet embedded deeper in his skin.

"Seriously Gray, just-! What is _that_ in your arm?" Natsu's eyes widened at seeing the dark mark that sliced deeply on his right forearm.

"Nothing much. Look, I don't know if I'll have enough magic to break this completely, okay? I'll just weaken a bit of the material and when you force the structure, hopefully, it will crack." Gray was looking intensely at Natsu, willing him to understand. He could feel that his consciousness was slipping away extremely fast and his magic… he just had to focus really hard. He could do this. The sweat and blood dripping down his body weren't going to stop him, and neither was the suffocating heat. Gray was stronger than this all and he was going to do this for sure! But it was really tricky and hard to do, he never heard of an ice mage that managed to win against the heat, even less in these conditions – but he had to do this.

"Okay, I will. But will you… you know…" demanded Natsu, eyes shifting uneasily to the lone figure that kept pacing in the background.

"Yeah. Now shut up." And with that Gray closed his eyes, his body became taut with the effort he was doing.

As he was warring a terrible, elemental battle inside himself.

Natsu watched with rapt attention, he could feel the two momentary blades of cold, each coming from where Gray's hands were. The cold also slid over his skin like a welcomed silky caress – something familiar and comfortable despite all the chaos. There it was!

"Quick! Step back!" he growled as the forced the band open on the right side, it was still precariously attached on the left side.

"One done, two to go." Gray was breathing with some difficulty and was a bit paler than before. Natsu nodded and was a bit taken aback when Gray adopted the same stance, his hands coming to rest on the metallic balls and his face centimeters away from Natsu's. then he leaned so that some of his weight was on Natsu, his face shifted so that now he was panting on Natsu's left ear.

"Okay, this is it. You have to use your strength and be really fast. I don't know how long- You better hurry." He cut himself with a gasp. And once again that feeling of cold crept over Natsu but now he could feel something else there.

Then, in one second it _felt_ as if Natsu was touching Gray's hands but in the next he was curling his arms around Gray's body as he started falling to the ground, not noticing the flames that had sprouted from his fists.

"Go."

That was the last word Gray said before slipping through Natsu's arms and falling unconscious on the tiny shards that littered the ground.

With a roar, Natsu broke the band that was still in front of him and knelt on Gray's side.

"So, this is the end of the first task. Congratulations, you passed it." The dry voice of the man supplied.

Natsu looked up, his eyes alight with fury.

"What now?" he growled.

* * *

**A/N:** Another bit on this crazy game. Hope you enjoyed it despite all the illogical stuff but, hey, fanfiction…. To tell the truth, this chapter was the one that gave me the idea to this story. Why am I torturing the boys so much (and loving it)? *wails* Anyway, there will be more three, maybe four chapters (I finally made up my mind ^^). And this is still unbeta-ed…

Review… :D


	4. Small room

Disclaimer: Not mine, as usual

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Chapter Four – Small Room

Somewhere, in the depths of the large manor, there was a room. It was bare of furniture, only being lit by what came from a small window that was high on the wall. From it and orangish color entered.

This was also a small room, moldy and there was also a scent that meant that something had probably died there – and nobody had cared.

The room was currently occupied by two girls and a cat. The girls had their hands and feet chained – and in such a way that didn't give them much freedom to move, so they were sitting on the floor, uncomfortably, staring at each other as they were on opposite walls. The cat was under the window, his body trapped in a strange metal contraption and his tail pinned down to the wall by a black ring.

They were all feeling tired, worried and with the imminent urge to throw up.

"What do you think that happened?" Lucy wondered, getting up to try to stretch her legs. The chains jingled with each movement.

"I don't know. I only remember that hall and that we were trapped. Then we were here when I woke." Erza tried to adjust her arms that were still raised because of the shorter chain. She didn't have her armor and that made her think that whoever the people that had caught them were, they weren't taking any chances. She glanced at Lucy and wondered (not for the first time) for the purpose of these black bands they had on their necks, as if they were a choker.

"So, where can Natsu and Gray be? They weren't in this room." Happy was very worried. "And we haven't heard them either if they're nearby…"

"What can these people, whoever they are, want to do with us?" Lucy sighed as she sat down again, letting her head rest on her knees.

"Don't know but we better-" Erza shut up as they started hearing the sound of footsteps.

Someone was coming…

Instants later the heavy door opened with a clang. Two men dressed in dark grey entered. They had a similar, muscled bulk and exuded a heavy 'don't-mess-with-me' aura.

"How long until the main attraction ends?" the taller one that was walking towards Erza asked.

"I don't know. They said that this was a rare occurrence and for that reason had to be savored." The other man shrugged and leaned against Lucy's wall – keeping in mind to remain out of her range.

"Damn it. So there won't be any for us-" the first man stopped just out of Erza's reach. She had gotten up and was scowling.

"Hmm… Maybe I should try my luck right now…" he leant slightly towards Erza, a cynical smile on his lips. "You know, I always fancied red-haired –" his tirade was cut by the twin gasps of disbelief from the girls and the scoff from the other man.

"You're not supposed to touch anything, you do realize that-" the other said idly. The taller man paid him no heed and strode until he was pressing against Erza, his left hand holding onto the shackles so that they remained immobilized.

"What do you think you're doing?" Erza seethed as she turned her face, trying not to be hit by the rancid breath.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" the man muttered while his right hand rested on Erza's waist. "We'll see to that…" he pressed harder against her and the hand started roaming through her body. To Erza it felt as if disgusting and slimy bugs were crawling through her whole body, making her skin crawl.

Startled sounds left Erza's mouth, occasionally. She hadn't been expecting anything good out of this but being molested wasn't – at all – in the plan. She regained some of her composure as the man pulled at her shirt and slipped the hand underneath.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you-" she started saying in a serious voice only to pause when the hand got to her breast, grabbed it and started playing with it. It felt disgusting and made her feel dirty. And she hated it. The fact that she was immobile adding to her fury. She tried to struggle but it was all in vain.

Not able to see what was going on because the man was covering Erza, Lucy only heard her reactions and couldn't do anything but look at the other man, pleadingly. "Please… Don't." She didn't look but Happy had his eyes closed and his head turned her way.

This only provoked an irritated sigh as the man straightened and started walking towards his colleague. However he paused to look at the door, almost as if someone had called him.

On her side, Erza was feeling something that wasn't so usual to her. Tendrils of panic were curling around her, tightening and suffocating. At that same time the hand was trailing down her body, the man mocking her. "Very well, your highness. It's forbidden to touch up there but I suppose that here-" the hand slid under her skirt and the man squeezed her inner thigh. Erza started struggling more frantically but the man didn't relent. He licked at the juncture between neck and shoulder as the hand slowly inched upward. "-here won't be a problem…" he breathed on Erza's ear and then he turned to bite – hard – on her flesh. At the same instant two large fingers moved and pierced into her warmth.

It hurt.

Erza choked on her breath, her rage and shock and pain mixing with the shame at the display she must be showing. The fingers pressed deeper and moved. And it was an awful feeling. Erza was feeling truly more naked now than if she had no clothes on. She tried to close her emotions, not show anything. And prayed for this to end.

The feeling of something hard against her leg made her fear the worse but thankfully the other man put a hand in her assailant's arm and stilled him. A couple of hushed words and she was released, both men going to the door – her attacker throwing a look back – before it closed loudly.

"Erza, are you-" Lucy asked, eyeing her friend and her disheveled state. The black band – no, choker – was in stark contrast against the pale skin, all of this was enhanced further by the blood that was soaking her collarbone.

"Did he-" Lucy couldn't finish the thought. A wave of relief crashed upon her when she saw the negative headshake.

"I'm alright. Now, we really have to find a way out of here and find the others."

"But what if they-" the conversation stopped when they heard more footsteps, quickly heading their way.

The door was opened once again and a body was dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the room. These were different men (but those two appeared by the door), but quickly exited the room, closing it once again.

The body on the floor groaned a bit as he turned to one side, only to be woken by the girls' startled, "Gray?"

Hearing someone calling his name made Gray open his eyes and move his head toward the sound but he stopped as piercing pain coursed through his body. He tried to curl on the floor but everything felt stiff and was throbbing so he lay on his back, breading shallowly.

This gave the girls enough time to see the state he was in. For starters, he only had his boxers on but almost every part of his body was wrapped in slightly yellow bandages. Stains of something dark appeared here and there but the soles of his feet were a mess of blood – they weren't covered.

"Gray! What happened?" Happy's voice rang in the room, the girls exchanging worried looks. Gray turned to his side again, looking towards Lucy's wall. With some effort he managed to answer.

"I don't- there was a desert with a red door. And then Natsu was tied to-"

"Natsu! How is he?" Happy nearly screamed, in his worry.

"I-I don't know Happy. He was fine when I last saw him…" he paused to cough.

"Gray. What happened to your feet?" Lucy's eyes were wide open. She didn't like this.

"It's just glass…" he said, slowly getting to a sitting position. Seeing the questions that were about to emerge, he hurried to ask, "And you, what happened?" Gray did want to know, he wasn't just changing the subject on the conversation – but it was an added bonus that it did. To tell the truth, he was feeling so sore that just wanted to drag himself to a corner and sleep.

"Nothing happened. We just woke here, chained. As much as we try these chains won't budge." Erza answered.

"Lucy not being able to force her way out of her bindings I may understand, but you, Erza?" Gray's voice sounded surprised but some tiredness could also be heard.

"I could easily break these chains but can you see this black band?" she raised her chin slightly. "It doesn't allow me to use my magic – or I would've used it to stab some of the guards that come here parading their weapons. As for my strength, my head feels heavy, I might've been drugged…"

"But Erza, that-" Lucy was quickly shut by a glare.

"_Don't_ say anything," a fist punching the wall showed that Erza was really serious.

"Huh… I don't think that I got that one…" Gray was feeling quite confused – of course that pain that coursed through his body wasn't exactly helping.

"Erza doesn't want that Lucy tell you about-" Happy began. He was squirming to try to get into a more comfortable position, only to still when he saw the look Erza directed at him. "Of course that… Aye, I'll shut up now." He ended a bit sheepishly.

"We have to-" Erza was saying, stopping and looking up at the sound of footsteps outside. Someone was coming.

They waited, in silence.

The door creaked open.

* * *

**A/N: **Now this took longer than expected. And I have to stop my muse. She's making this story's plot grow and get darker. I don't know how it is possible but this was going to be a small (around five chapters) fic and now it's growing arms and legs and perviness! And I don't know if I won't have to raise the rating. So, this is a bit confusing.

Anyway, hope that this didn't squick anybody and, bear with me for the next chapters.

As usual, this isn't beta-ed and here I ask you to review. ^^


	5. The Armors and the Weakness

Disclaimer: Still not mine TAT

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Chapter Five – The Armors and the Weakness

The slightly smaller guard from before entered the room. He assessed them with a calm glance and headed to Erza. On his way he didn't bother with what Gray might do as he deemed him too weak – that he was – just produced a small key from his pockets and used it to open the locks. He gave a pull and Erza fell to the floor with a grunt. He gave a couple of jerks to the chains and soon after Erza was standing up.

"Come. It's your turn," he started pulling her out the door. The indignant questions of her friends were echoing behind. She was pulled out the door and against something solid. She braced herself and opened her eyes. Only to look at the tall man, the one from before, who was grinning lewdly at her.

"Don't you start with any ideas," the other said from behind, the door being closed with an ominous sound. As she was dragged away from the room she could hear the soft voices of her friends.

Erza gulped.

She was leaving the security (that, she noticed, was mostly imagined) of the room and of her friends.

On the following step that she gave she held her head up high and wore a determined expression.

She was not going down that easily.

The others just had to wait and see.

* * *

The door closed with a sound of finality. Where were they taking Erza to? What was going to happen to her? Or to them, for that order of ideas.

"Now what? Gray, what's happening here?" Lucy looked at Gray, her left hand pulling at her hair. She was completely lost. Not that Gray was much better…

"I have no idea. But you don't have to worry, Erza's though. She'll be able to handle whatever comes her way," of that he was certain.

"You don't know what they're capable of…" Lucy trailed off, unsure if she should continue that train of thought. Well, Erza didn't want her to do so before and she was not going to go against her now. In all this she was interrupted by a snort. She looked at Gray.

"I don't know what they can do? One would say that you haven't looked at me yet."

"You look terrible Gray." Happy promptly supplied.

"Thank you," Gray rolled his eyes before continuing, "These guys are completely crazy. And strong. I know perfectly that I would be dead already if they wanted to." The gasp he head reminded him that he didn't want to go into much detail. "Right now we can't do much except saving our strength, hope the others are alright and hope for the best." He crawled so that he had his back against the wall, beside Lucy. They exchanged a look and glanced at Happy who was still trying to get into a more comfortable position.

And they started their long wait.

* * *

They had passed several corridors, lined with doors, each looking gloomier than the other. Then they reached a slightly hidden stairwell. It had a layer of dust and some specks of dry dirt on the lateral sides – only the center was clean, supposedly due to people using it frequently. They descended two flights in the tight stairs, the sound of their steps echoing on the bare walls. Erza noticed absentmindedly that this area should have been used by the servants. And this was a real maze!

The guards (should she consider these two men that?) slowed a bit when they got to a large green door, it had bits of chipped paint and large chunks of wood had been ripped. At that moment, the sound of something falling on the ground had them reaching for their weapons. The taller (the assailant) unsheated his sword and the other who was holding her chains reached for his dagger.

It was minimal but the momentary distraction was everything that she needed. She took her chance and attacked. Erza went for the dagger and had the chains around the man's neck, suffocating him. He was standing between her and the other man and when the first fell unconscious she let the body fold to the ground, the hold he had on her chains slackening and allowing her to pull free.

Erza was finally able to face the other one – and extract her revenge.

He was assessing her, grinning.

"Come on, you may be Fairy Queen Titania but not even you can be that good," he was goading her but she remained impassible, holding the dagger in an offensive stance.

Minutes tickled by in this standstill, they were looking at each other, looking for weaknesses. Then he moved. Taking some balance, the man charged.

Erza defended, the metallic sound making them come to a stop – they were only measuring the strength but Erza saw he glint by the corner of her eye and noticed what it was. He was holding a small dagger. The minute balance was broken and Erza sidestepped quickly out of the way. The man had a weapon in each hand while Erza only had that puny (and weak) dagger and chains that measured about one meter.

The asshole wasn't going to notice what hit him. And, thinking this, feeling the (small) weight of the weapon in her hand made Erza feel more like herself, calm the whirlwind of emotions that tried to overwhelm her still.

This was her.

And this fool was going to pay for what he had done to her.

She was going to make sure of that.

"What are you waiting for?" he attacked again.

For some instants everything became a blur, the sound and feel of the weapons clashing. It was like a dance. One that she knew. And soon after Erza managed to get hold of the sword and she turned at him.

"I would learn how to hold a sword, it I were you. They aren't all that slippery…" she said while testing the balance of the sword.

Now that he didn't have the upper hand (not that he had ever had it to begin with) the man tried to run away but Erza threw the tip of the chain, whip-like, hit him in the leg and he fell to the floor, curling in pain. The dagger was forgotten a couple of steps away from him.

Erza walked until she was towering over him.

"And now, what do you think that will happen?" she demanded, face stony.

"Now… nothing," the other answered amidst a few grunts.

"Nothing, you say?" Erza took a step forward and plunged the sword in his right leg. The man let out a blood curling scream and looked up at Erza who had a feral look. When he tried to move, a chain hit the ground too close for comfort. Erza knelt on his chest and leaned forward, her hair almost forming a curtain around their faces. "Usually I am not like this but you-you…" she said in an almost conversational tone. "I guess you deserve it." She brought the dagger up and swiftly sliced his throat. The man made horrible gurgling noises as he choked on his blood. Erza got up and picked up all the weapons, cleaned them in the unconscious man's clothes and looked for the key that would open the chains. When she was free she turned at the door.

'I was meant to come here, right? Here I come…'

The green door opened without resistance and she thought that green was an appropriate color – as the room seemed to be some kind of jungle.

"What the-?"

"So nice of you to have joined us…" a voice came from behind and Erza almost jumped in her surprise. She turned brusquely. It was a man covered in a cloak and with a mask covering his features.

"Who-who are you?" she lifted her sword and adopted a defensive stance.

"I'm not the one you have to be worried with. We'll get to that… I am from Emalfiro, but you may call me Presenter. Nice to meet you, how do you do?" he said in a composed voice. "And now let's get to business. One of your friends is already at his task, can you hear him?" he paused and looked pointedly to his left. Erza tried but was unable to hear a thing. Until the ground started shaking, that is. "Well… and this is your task. You have to defeat the creature and cross that archway. You'll quickly see what you need to do out there."

The noise of something coming towards them grew and the man, Presenter, gave a small bow before disappearing amidst the foliage. But Erza got the feeling that he was still there, that she was being watched.

Well, she had to do this, right? Erza put the sword on its hilt and started walking, carefully as she didn't know what she was going to face. The room (jungle?) grew silent and then, a loud rumble was coming her way, the ground trembling more and more. Suddenly it was as if someone had pushed a curtain aside – and Erza saw it. The huge creature.

'Oh Gods, no! Not a-' she was thinking, baffled.

"A moskilda…" she ended up voicing her thoughts out loud. The creature seemed to have heard (but it looked like an ant – didn't have ears) and turned the head at her. Erza looked at the glossy black armor – and longed for her own. Reality in the form of eight hairy legs shook her out of her longing, as she had to throw herself out of the way. Her fall was uncomfortable due to the pointy things that started poking her where she had fallen over them. She didn't have time to breathe, however, as the creature turned the head and excreted a bright green liquid. It didn't get Erza but she started running. At the same time she was trying to remember what she knew about moskildas. It wasn't much but she found a way to kill it. Unfortunately she had to let herself be caught by it as that was the simpler – and faster – way to defeat this beast. The moskilda tried to charge against her and they did have strange clashes but in the end Erza was caught between two fangs and elevated until she was right in front of the creature's eyes. She grabbed one of the daggers and threw it at one of the creature's eyes. She missed.

The hollow sound of it falling to the ground made Erza mutter under her breath. It was impossible. And she only had one more chance. Throwing the second dagger it hit the eye perfectly. A yellow liquid started flowing from it and the creature started squealing and contorting, releasing Erza in a good position. She unsheated the sword before she noticed it and she swung it at a small interstice between the main part of the armor and the head. This made a jet of liquid gush out, showering Erza in that foul yellow liquid. It was sticky and slippery. Erza almost slipped when she tried to get from under the creature before it fell. The beast dropped to the ground with a large impact. Erza rounded the corpse (that was still twitching in a gross way) and found the dagger that had missed the target. She might've killed this enemy but probably there would be others – and she didn't have any way to reach her weapons!

With a sigh of congratulation for a job well done she started to walk to the archway. However she didn't notice the long gash that ran down her left leg and she didn't notice the fluid that was dripping over the wound either.

The lack of her usual attire made things more uncomfortable and she had to leave this place – with her friends, of course. When she got to the archway a bright light hit her eyes, making her temporarily blind.

And then she only had the time to think 'Shit!' before everything went dark.

* * *

**A/N:** Here is another installment in this straight forward story (don't you think that it's like that?) – a bit later than expected, damn you rl! That said, I think I should apologize for dark!Erza but she did have her revenge… and I'll also add that I'm very sorry for the OoC (not that it's much of a surprise) but I'm only here for the ride, the characters do what they want – they have a life of their own *points at misbehaving characters* so blame them. ^^

About the continuation I find myself a bit indecisive about the next chapter. Should I do it with Lucy or with Natsu (and consequently Gray)? Okay, I would love if you helped me with this so, a review is in order, right? And I'll only update after having some feedback because I'm really hesitating. (yeah, usually I don't whine and bother you so much but it would be amazing if the readers helped me out here. :D)

This is still unbeta-ed and I may have to rewrite the chapter as it's not exactly to my liking, there are some things missing... ^^'

* * *

To Natsux: I'm glad you're enjoying this story so much. Hopefully you'll continue to read and have fun with upcoming chapters in whatever story. Thank you so much for your review. ^^


	6. The Room of Thousand Threads and Voyeurs

Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

Chapter Six – The Room of Thousand Threads and Voyeurs

Natsu was furious.

How could they? How dare they do that to Gray? And to them? He seethed.

Right after Gray had fallen unconscious Natsu had been separated (more like manhandled by two goons that had appeared out of nowhere) and dragged from that room. He looked back and saw two men grab Gray's body and take him through a different door.

As the red door closed behind him Natsu was thrown to the cold stone floor. He fell with a grunt and shivered a bit at the cold that seemed to seep into his body.

"Up you go. There's still much to do and your task. You still have to perform…" the man waited patiently for Natsu to stand up. When he did he nodded and signaled for the men to position, each one, behind Natsu.

"Of we go. We're nearly there," he paused and grinned.

Natsu narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

When the other started walking down the corridor, Natsu was plotting several ways to kill – or maybe just maim, somehow he wasn't in a too violent mood – the other. He was free; Gray had taken care of that at great expense, so in theory he should just demolish this all and beat up a couple of fuckers. Hmm, it served them right.

He didn't act, however, because, for one, he listened to his common sense. He just had the worst feeling that his action would possibly do more harm than good. He was separated from the others and knew that they were weakened. Things didn't look good – at all.

They stopped in front of a bright blue door. It was a strange door as the frame, hinges and knobs were of a metallic silver that glinted in the semi-darkness of the corridor.

Throwing a pointed look at the other two, the masked man quickly opened the door and entered. Natsu was instantly pushed in, without preamble.

This new room was completely unexpected. For starters, it looked immense, but it was hard to judge as everything had a grey color, in a misty ambiance. There was also something strange in just be standing there but Natsu couldn't quite put a finger on the reason. What was going on?

He managed to outline the dark cloaked figure a couple of meters ahead and was taken by surprise when he saw another dark figure join that first one.

Now they were two but one of them was going to stand aside or was he going to face two opponents? Not that he minded any of the options – he was strong enough to tackle them both.

All of a sudden Natsu noticed that there was only one figure – what had happened?

The figure was approaching Natsu and it got quite close. There were a couple of things that showed that this wasn't the first person, this one was slightly smaller and had a different feel around them.

An unsettling feeling took over Natsu. Somehow he felt that this person had something that was highly incompatible with him. But what could that be?

The voice of the first man boomed from somewhere, "Here is your task; you are to go to the next room – after facing our friend here – and once there you'll know the final part."

Silence fell and, in this place with all those mists and weird things swirling around, it felt extremely unsettling. And then someone started laughing, the crystalline sound chiming and filling the place.

Natsu's head turned sharply at the voice, he decidedly wasn't expecting to confront a woman – in whatever rink this Emalfiro thing had prepared for him. But he had to continue so he got ready to face her.

His opponent was throwing away the cloak, letting the vaguely familiar (Lucy-like) clothes appear. This woman was wearing ridiculously short shorts and a top that made Natsu wonder how the breasts hadn't jumped out yet. Her arms were covered in a silky cloth in what could be considered fingerless gloves. The whole ensemble was in several hues of a dull grey that got camouflaged on the mists. Finally, her green hair was pulled on a high pony-tail.

The smirk she threw at him was the only sign Natsu got that she was going to do something.

She attacked and, while Natsu was expecting it, things didn't go the way he had envisioned. The air shifted and when Natsu moved his arms and tried to conjure his flames, nothing happened.

'What the-' Natsu's eyes widened when he saw the weak flames die. He looked up, confused.

His only answer was yet another round of crystalline laugh, this woman – the enemy – had thrown her head back and was mocking him.

"What did you do?" the Salamander demanded in an unusual voice.

"My, my… Isn't this funny?" her eyes were shinning with amusement.

"Shut up!" Natsu bellowed.

It was strange that his voice was echoing in the mists and large room but that he was feeling a bit claustrophobic. Nothing here seemed to be normal.

"Very well. Now that I have your attention, let's begin. Try to beat this," she raised her left hand and pointed at Natsu. Threads shot up towards him, coming from every direction. Natsu jumped out of the way, tried to put some distance between them but a couple of threads made him trip and fall.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Come on. You're better than this…" she stopped a couple of meters away and Natsu jumped up. He ran towards her and tried to throw a fiery punch at her. He was counteracted as she directed the shiny threads towards him again. They enveloped his hands and feet and Natsu found himself on the ground once again.

Sitting up, he noticed that his hands were covered by a light grey substance in what resembled gloves. His sandaled feet were covered by that same substance that reached to the lower bottom of his pants.

"Don't worry about that, dear. That's just a small thing that will help us to have more fun," a long lock of hair fell and covered her right eye. The woman put it behind her ear distractedly. "Now. Where were we? Oh, right-" she swept her arm in front of her, hand parallel to the ground. Natsu immediately noticed a change. It got harder to breathe.

"I hadn't told you yet, right?" she tilted her head a bit, a finger tapping on her chin. "I can control the atmospheric gases and this is my room. When you find a way to get out, this part of your task will be over. And that substance that you have in there is a layer of nitrogen. It wouldn't do to have you spitting flames and whatnot and today I really don't fancy to play much with the air."

"You're nuts," said Natsu before taking a deep breath and trying to spit a fireball. Unfortunately it was weak and died before reaching half the distance between them.

"Yeah… that won't work. I reduced the oxygen to the minimal amount that is needed for us to breathe. That won't work, as you noticed…" she strode resolutely towards Natsu and tapped her foot impatiently. "And now I would love to see your next move…"

Natsu straightened up and, absentmindedly, pulled at his scarf. The air was getting scarce and, without the fire he would have to resort to brute strength. But this woman had to be more protected than what she appeared to be. How could he – and, most importantly, how was he supposed to find a way out of this _room_? Maybe he could try to put a wall down or…

But the big question remained. How was he supposed to pass this? The whole setting was unfair.

His foe mumbled something and suddenly more threads shot up. Natsu rolled and jumped until he was behind her. He threw himself at her, his hands coming to cover her mouth and nose.

This had to do something, at least. Maybe he could make her go unconscious…

There was a sharp pull and Natsu was flying over the woman. Before she let go of him, Natsu felt a sharp twinge go up his left arm.

He fell to the ground but rolled and stood up again.

"Tut, tut, tut… You don't get to do that, my dear," she had folded her arms in such a manner that her bosom stood out even more. "You're such a naughty boy… I would stay out of the way and try not to be smothered by-" she giggled, what made her boobs bounce, "I'd be careful if I were you…"

"Thanks, but I know how to think by myself," Natsu threw her a cocky grin.

He rubbed his right hand (that had scrapped on the ground and was now smarting a bit) on his pant-leg. There had to be a way out of here, even if he could only get there by force.

He had heard something before, the sound of something hitting a wall, falling and still. Maybe if he could make her…

It was going to be quite difficult, for sure; more so if he had to fight with his arm in the state it was (he didn't exactly know what had happened but it was throbbing).

Damn this day, this mission and the crazy (and weird) people he was facing.

Curse it all!

"Come on. I always heard that you were better than this!" she pouted, "I'm very disappointed…"

Disappointed with what? Natsu wasn't the one that wanted to be here – he should have some say in the matter, not this… this _bimbo_ with her disappointment.

He could see that she was up to something, because of the subtle way she was moving her fingers but what he didn't expect was a wave of threads, almost like a wave and where fumes emerged from the top. Natsu managed to get out of the way and was surprised to see that the area of the impact had been corroded.

'That was close!'

But he had to try and do what he had thought.

Slowly, painstakingly slow, he managed to get her to act the way he wanted, they started a dance that he was, subtly, leading and they started to head towards the direction that Natsu thought that was the wall.

Nimbly, he got closer to her only to get back again and he didn't care about the injuries (nothing too serious) from where she got too close.

It was a spiral that would, hopefully, make Natsu get rid of this part.

Something made him trip (even though he had been paying attention to where he placed his feet) and fall on his ass. As he scrambled to get up, he faced a monstrous thing that looked like a drill. He stood up and took a step back and was calculating his odds when he felt the wall on his back.

If she attacked, this wall was going down. Now he only had to hold his own so that she didn't suspect-

The drill surged forward and time seemed to slow down, Natsu could see the fumes that rose from the tip that also came from the heavy braids that surrounded the drill and were also being pushed forward.

His heart was hammering in his chest and it was so loud and fast that Natsu feared that it might come out of his chest.

It wasn't completely fear, what he was feeling – it was most likely exhilaration – but this _had_ to work. It had to-

Natsu dodged at the last minute, threw himself to the side and was thrown through the large hole on the wall, by the braids.

He ended covered up with some bits of plaster and dust.

This new place was also full of mists…

The good part was that it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and when Natsu looked down he saw that the 'gloves' and boots were gone.

"Stop! Your part is over," a male voice pierce the silence that followed.

"No! It's not fair. I didn't even-" the woman said stubbornly, stomping her foot.

"Too bad. Go now. And enjoy the next part…" the man said this and there was a small metallic sound.

Natsu got up and got ready for the next thing that they wanted to throw at him.

* * *

When a cloud of mist parted to show an already familiar figure Natsu stopped. He was breathing heavily and the sight of what was between the masked man's hands made him stop breathing.

Happy was inside a- a metal ball? He looked distressed at Natsu who could only watch helplessly.

"Now to end you task. You just have to give us a show," there was that gleeful hint again, that made Natsu suspicious.

"Show?" Natsu was watching how the man shifted the ball the contained Happy between his hands.

"Yes, a show. You'll have to entertain us with what we'll provide," he snapped his fingers and there was the sound of something hitting the ground nearby.

Natsu looked down and his eyes widened in shock. He wasn't expecting to see Gray in this bundle of limbs.

"Gray," he motioned to go to where his friend was, apparently, unconscious.

He was, however, stopped by a 'tsk' so, he looked up at the masked man, arching an eyebrow.

"You may begin."

Natsu was dumbstruck. "W-what?"

"Give us a show. Or your furry little friend here is going to be in trouble…" he sat down at a table that had suddenly appeared and placed Happy on top of it. The ball flattened a bit on one side so that Happy was with his belly up.

"Don't listen to him Natsu. I'll be fine. Get out." Happy tried to look at Natsu.

"No way!" Natsu shook his head and took a step towards the table.

"Don't think about it. You shall comply or your friend's going to pay," the man held a large needle and placed the tip on Happy's left paw. When Natsu didn't move he pierced Happy. The blue cat hissed in pain but he continued to urge Natsu to go away.

Natsu paused. However his hesitation made Happy be transpierced by more four needles.

"Stop! Don't hurt him," he went back towards Gray. He knelt beside him and carefully turned him so that he was lying on his back. He grabbed his shoulder and gave a small shake. Gray opened his eyes slowly. But Natsu didn't move.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I can't do this. It's wrong."

"But we want our entertainment. And it's the task that has been assigned to you."

"You're all a bunch of perverts," Natsu muttered as he caressed Gray's face and held his hand – he had to make sure that he grounded Gray before they tried to do something.

Gray opened his eyes fractionally, "Natsu…" when he saw his acquiesce his eyes opened, "…what now?"

"They seem to want me to-" he gulped and averted his eyes. It was impossible for him to continue. "They want me to do- to do… you…" Gray's hand tightened on his. "They are already doing terrible things. Happy is… Happy is…" he shook his head. "But I can't do this. To expose and just betray your trust, our friendship. I just can't."

Gray was speechless at the admission. They wanted Natsu to- and why him? What kind of fucked up game was this? They wanted to crush them both? This was just too surreal – unthinkable!

"Even if you – we – agreed. How do you think you'll manage to do it? This is not a switch that can be turned on or off just because," there was a comforting (yeah, and weird) sense in the words, as they were closer to their usual banter.

Natsu's lips quirked in the corner but his eyes still had that anguished look. 'Natsu can be such a fool sometimes…' Gray thought fondly. He squeezed his hand.

It was going to be alright.

* * *

He let himself relax and fell more heavily over Gray.

Their small bubble was burst by the applause that roughly pushed them to reality.

At first, dizzy but feeling more like himself, Natsu slipped out of Gray and got up (and in the meanwhile he threw his vest at Gray's middle, for a modicum of modesty). He looked back at Gray, who nodded.

"Alright, as you can see I finished my part. What now? Give me Happy back," Natsu looked stubbornly at the masked man who was standing up too.

"I can see that," he eyed amusedly at Natsu's stained stomach. "But I heard that that was not enough," he moved his head dismissively, "the audience was expecting a little more…"

A vein throbbed in Natsu's forehead. His temper was going to get the best of him…

But he couldn't stand the sneer and haughty poise of this guy. Without a thought Natsu was running towards him, his fist blazing.

He punched the guy but only managed to make the mask fall.

When Natsu looked up again (and Gray was also up, minimally dressed and ready to back him up, nice) the man had the top of his face covered by the hood of his cloak.

And he was smirking.

Though he had no reason to do so, after all, Natsu was going to pound that fucker.

But then something hit his leg and made Natsu lose his balance and when he looked back up, a dozen of needles were heading towards him, arrow-like.

He rolled on the ground and heard Gray do the same.

At some point, while they dodged the rain of needles, they exchanged a look and attacked.

The ice and fire got to the place but the man moved and was standing behind them, two large black needles in each hand and he flicked them at both the boys – who dodged.

Unfortunately the needles followed them and the more they took to hit the target the more speed they got. So, Natsu and Gray were trying to evade both kinds of needles.

To no avail, as the ones that were following them did get them.

Gray was hit in the throat (the thing went through and through) while Natsu was hit on his left shoulder in what looked to be the precise place where it could hurt the most.

Gray fell to the ground and more eight big, black needles pierced him in painful places so that he shook a little while on the ground, before falling unconscious – some blood flowing and spreading on the ground underneath.

Natsu didn't have time to look or worry for long as he kept trying to reach the guy and not be pierced by any of the needles.

The time the other got within his reach, another of the large and dark needles lodged on his hipbone and extended Natsu's awareness of the word _pain_.

He faltered as his body filled with pain. And another needle found its place in Natsu's kneecap.

After that, more ten needles found their way to Natsu's body but despite being in a world of pain, he didn't relent. He had gotten here, so far, done terrible things and it would feel wonderful to just erase that smirk from that fucker's face.

He only wanted to do that.

Then, the cloaked man stopped and let Natsu grab the front of the cloak, his smirk still in place.

Natsu managed to focus his blurry vision and the man spoke.

"You did very well, except for this last part but that's excused because I had my fun," he kicked Natsu who fell and tiredly raised his head. "So, this means that you have the right to a little something."

There was a metallic sound and a dark, shiny thing was in front of Natsu. It was Happy, who was knocked out and had no signs of having been pierced before, he didn't sport any injuries.

The man rolled Natsu to lie on his back.

"And this is to tell you goodbye," he flicked his left hand and the thickest needle so far lodged itself in the middle of Natsu's chest.

With it came the feeling of an olifante sitting on top of him – and only added to the pain that flared all over his body.

"Show is over, my dears."

Those were the last words Natsu heard, followed by a door closing heavily.

After that he lost the battle against the pain and plunged into the numb darkness.

**A/N:** Oh my god. This was weird. First time I wrote something of the sort, I think. It was better when I first thought this scene but this is what we get – brought to you by the lack of time in real life… so, yeah, sorry for taking so long to update…

And, what did you think of this chapter? Was it long enough? I have to hurry, next will be the last one and I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. Whew, poor boys, the things they have to do to entertain us…

I apologize if you didn't find the chapter to your liking or that the way that I wrote it wasn't the more correct (and way too OoC) but, hey this is fanfiction, where many crazy and weird things can happen and I did try to pay some attention…

Am I too bad (in a fangirlish way) to them? *bats lashes innocently* Review to give me your opinion. ^^

I would like to thank to those who reviewed so far, your words make my day.

And also, a huge thanks to Kyfas who helped me figure some things for the fight scene (it's terrible but that's my fault). I did well in presenting her to FT. ^^

As usual, still unbeta-ed.

**A/N2:** Due to ffn's new restrictions, this chapter has been heavily edited. If you want to read the full chapter head to my Livejournal. Thank you.


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